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Intelligence Commission:
Tim Russert: Prime Minister Blair has set up a similar commission in Great Britain.
President Bush: Yeah.
Russert: His is going to report back in July. Ours is not going to be until March of 2005, five months after the presidential election.
President Bush: Yeah.
Russert: Shouldn't the American people have the benefit of the commission before the election?
President Bush: Well, the reason why we gave it time is because we didn't want it to be hurried. This is a strategic look, kind of a big‑picture look about the intelligence‑gathering capacities of the United States of America, whether it be the capacity to gather intelligence in North Korea or how we've used our intelligence to, for example, learn more information about A.Q. Kahn. And it's important that this investigation take its time.
Now, look, we are in a political season. I fully understand people‑‑He's trying to avoid responsibility. There is going to be ample time for the American people to assess whether or not I made a‑‑good calls, whether or not I used good judgment, whether or not I made the right decision in removing Saddam Hussein from power, and I look forward to that debate
Russert: Will you testify before the commission?
President Bush: This commission? You know, I don't‑‑testify? I will be glad to visit with them. I will be glad to share with them knowledge. I will be glad to make recommendations, if they ask for some.
On the Director of the CIA George Tenet:
President Bush:
I strongly believe the CIA is ably led by George Tenet.
Russert: His job is not in jeopardy?
President Bush: No, not at all, not at all.
On the 9/11 Commission:
Tim Russert: Would you submit for questioning, though, to the 9/11 Commission?
President Bush: Perhaps, perhaps.
On Osama bin Laden:
Tim Russert: Senator Charles Grassley, a Republican
said he is absolutely convinced we will capture Osama bin Laden before the election.
President Bush: Well, I appreciate his optimism. I have no idea whether we will capture or bring him to justice, may be the best way to put it. I know we are on the hunt
Russert: Do you have a pretty good idea where Osama is?
President Bush: You know, I'm not going to comment on that.
On not finding Weapons of Mass Destruction:
Tim Russert: The night you took the country to war, March 17th, you said this: "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubt that the Iraq regime continues to possess and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised."
President Bush: Right.
Russert: That apparently is not the case.
President Bush: Correct.
Russert: How do you respond to critics who say that you brought the nation to war under false pretenses?
President Bush: The
first of all, I expected to find the weapons. Sitting behind this desk making a very difficult decision of war and peace, and I based my decision on the best intelligence possible, intelligence that had been gathered over the years, intelligence that not only our analysts thought was valid but analysts from other countries thought were valid.
On Saddam as a Threat:
Tim Russert: Mr. President, the Director of the CIA said that his briefings had qualifiers and caveats, but when you spoke to the country, you said "there is no doubt." When Vice President Cheney spoke to the country, he said "there is no doubt." Secretary Powell, "no doubt." Secretary Rumsfeld, "no doubt, we know where the weapons are." You said, quote, "The Iraqi regime is a threat of unique urgency. [Saddam Hussein] is a threat that we must deal with as quickly as possible. You gave the clear sense that this was an immediate threat that must be dealt with.
President Bush: I think, if I might remind you that in my language I called it a grave and gathering threat, but I don't want to get into word contests. But what I do want to share with you is my sentiment at the time. There was no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was a danger to America.
Russert: In what way?
President Bush: Well, because he had the capacity to have a weapon, make a weapon. We thought he had weapons. The international community thought he had weapons. But he had the capacity to make a weapon and then let that weapon fall into the hands of a shadowy terrorist network.
On Future Preemptive Strikes:
Tim Russert: There is a sense in the country that the intelligence that was given was ambiguous, and that you took it and molded it and shaped it‑‑your opponents have said "hyped" it‑‑and rushed to war.
President Bush: Yeah.
Russert: And now, in the world, if you, in the future, say we must go into North Korea or we must go into Iran because they have nuclear capability, either this country or the world will say, Excuse you, Mr. President, we want it now in hard, cold facts.
President Bush: Well, Tim, I and my team took the intelligence that was available to us and we analyzed it, and it clearly said Saddam Hussein was a threat to America. Now, I know I'm getting repetitive, but I'm just trying to make sure you understand the context in which I was making decisions. He had used weapons. He had manufactured weapons. He had funded suicide bombers into Israel. He had terrorist connections. In other words, all of those ingredients said to me: Threat.
On the Resistance in Iraq:
Tim Russert: It's now nearly a year, and we are in a very difficult situation. Did we miscalculate how we would be treated and received in Iraq?
President Bush: Well, I think we are welcomed in Iraq.
Russert: Are you surprised by the level and intensity of resistance?
President Bush: No, I'm not.
On Nation-Building:
Tim Russert: You do seem to have changed your mind from the 2000 campaign. In a debate, you said, "I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called 'nation-building.'"
President Bush: Yes.
Russert: We clearly are involved in nation-building.
President Bush: Right. And I also said‑‑let me put it in context. I'm not suggesting you're pulling one of these Washington tricks where you leave half the equation out. But I do say also that our troops must be trained and prepared to fight and win war and, therefore, make peace more possible. And our troops were trained to fight and win war, and we did, and a second phase of the war is now going on. The first phase, of course, was the Tommy Franks troop movement.
Russert: But this is nation-building?
President Bush: Well, it is. Thats right, but we're also fighting a war so that they can build a nation.
On the United Nations in Iraq:
Tim Russert: In transferring power, the U.N. will play a central role?
President Bush: Yeah. I call it a vital role because there is a lot of roles being played by different players, but the U.N. will play‑‑and this role is a very important role. It says to the Iraqi citizens who are again trying to figure out the right balance as they head toward this new democracy after years of‑‑after years of being enslaved by a tyrant how best to do this, and I think it's very helpful to have the stamp of the international community be placed upon the political process.
[ 02-08-2004, 03:21 PM: Message edited by: Chewbacca ]